I am heartbroken by the murder of George Floyd. As a Minnesota resident, a mother, an immigrant, and a person of color, I feel compelled to address his death and the resulting fear, turmoil, and uncertainty.

I left my family and country to create a home in America. A country that boasts about opportunities, freedom, and the ability to live a productive life. I came to get an education. I stayed to work in my chosen field and to contribute to my Minnesota community that I came to consider home. I stayed to raise a family, to advance my career, to start my own consulting business.

George Floyd and I shared something in common: America, our home. Home is supposed to be a place where you feel safe and where you belong. Home is supposed to be a place where you can be who you are and who you want to be. Home is supposed to be a place where you least expect to be killed.

The death of George Floyd compounded my heartache amid the many lives lost to COVID-19. When George called for his mother with his last few breaths, I wept. I wept for George and his family. I wept for my parents in Malaysia who I was not with when they died. I wept for myself. I wept for my two mixed-race daughters who once again are having to deal with images of brutality perpetrated against black bodies in the place where they live. I wept for people everywhere who face discrimination and fear for their lives every single day.

Discriminated against because of deeply-rooted learned biases and prejudices that can only be eradicated through authentic, intentional, consistent, courageous, invested, and continuous collective efforts.

George Floyd’s murder and subsequent protests around the world have generated many scripts from CEOs to their employees about adopting and recommitting to diversity, equity, and inclusion principles. Many communities, organizations, and individuals are trying to come together to work towards further equity and justice. These acts are pertinent and necessary, but they are not enough to sustain the change that is needed.

Inclusion is not about acting differently because your CEO said so. It is not about only behaving in a certain manner to keep your job. It is not about writing scripts to glorify your brand. It is not about listening to a TED talk. And it is not only about reposting messages on social media. These are great awareness-building efforts, but they cannot sustain the momentum needed to leverage our collective experience to create real and lasting change.

As a Chinese immigrant, I also experience racism, microaggressions, and discrimination from the white community. However, I acknowledge that I am often viewed as a “model” minority who is fully assimilated into American culture. With this acknowledgment, I vow to commit to my continued learning about allyship to the black community and to challenge the mindsets of those around me who are early in their journey of becoming an ally or never want to be.

A colleague said to me “You live in Minnesota. Minnesota is White. I don’t know what you are expecting.” I am expecting our white community to see our black, indigenous, and other communities of color, and to create safe spaces for these communities. I am expecting constant learning about anti-racism from our majority cultures. I am expecting so much better from a state that claims the term, “Minnesota Nice.” The protest and riots in our country over the killing of George Floyd and unequal justice is about systemic and institutional racism. It will take continuous collective efforts to break down systemic and institutional racism and build-up a healthy system so all people can live their lives without fear.

My fears for my daughters, and for many black, indigenous, people of color if they are pulled over by police or sleeping in their apartment or jogging in a white neighborhood or protesting for social injustice in the streets are not relieved by slogans about diversity and inclusion.

The change needed is on individuals and especially those in power. To leaders everywhere who talk about unity only during times of trouble, please authenticate your words with responsible actions. To all the people who are lamenting about burning buildings over dead black bodies, I hope you will open your heart and eyes to discover the root causes of these protests. To all government officials, I hope you will protect and enact laws so people are free to live their lives without fear. I hope you will recognize the value of our rich perspectives and allow us to grow with the community.

To all my family and friends who showed your love and your support through your acts of kindness and your advocacy for social justice, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for lighting the way and re-igniting a new light that I thought had gone out when George Floyd was killed. To everyone who is experiencing pain from the killing of George Floyd and continued social injustice, I am sending you light. Black lives matter. Let us carry this light into the world until this statement is reflected in society.

Photo: A boarded-up office building on University Avenue in St. Paul had a colorful memorial to George Floyd on its covered windows, painted by Victoria Eidelsztein and Matt Litwin.